Weichert Financial/Mortgage Access Corp., an agency/jumbo mortgage lender in 43 states, reached a settlement with the banking regulators of 10 states after a multi-state examination found numerous compliance and internal control deficiencies, including the use of an interstate lending desk to facilitate the origination or completion of mortgage applications by originators that were not licensed in the appropriate jurisdictions. The multi-state mortgage examination program was initiated to enhance consumer protection, foster a culture of compliance within the industry, and hold...
Mortgage lenders have a number of questions about the two new prototype disclosure forms circulated for public comment recently by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but none of the issues appears to be a deal-breaker...
Jumbo mortgages accounted for 7.7 percent of new loan originations in the first quarter of 2011, the highest share for the sector since 2008. A number of correspondent lenders have also expanded their jumbo programs in 2011. Some $25.0 billion in non-agency jumbos were originated in the first quarter of 2011, according to estimates by affiliated publication Inside Mortgage Finance. That was down 16.7 percent from the previous quarter, while overall originations declined by 35.0 percent during the period. The relative strength of the jumbo market increased...[Includes one data chart]
FHA originations in April totaled $15.33 billion, down 6.7 percent from March and 28.6 percent from the same period last year, according to Inside FHA Lendings latest ranking of the top 50 FHA lenders. Fixed-rate mortgages accounted for the bulk of originations among the top lenders at 92.2 percent, while 67.3 percent of FHA lending in April was for home purchase mortgages. In the first quarter, government-insured lending fell significantly, as did all other sectors of the single-family originations market. FHA and VA originations dropped 24.0 percent during the period. Refinance loans accounted for... [Includes one data chart]
The volume of refinance originations may have dropped significantly during the first quarter of 2011, but refi transactions continued to account for a historically high share of new business, according to a new ranking and analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance. Lenders originated an estimated $235 billion in refinance loans during the first three months of this year, which represented 72.3 percent of all single-family mortgage production. That was one of the highest quarterly refi market shares ever, ranking behind the fourth quarter of 2010 and the first two quarters of 2009. Refi production volume was down 40.1 percent from the end of 2010, however... [Includes two data charts]
Credit card giant Discover Financial Services is adding mortgages to its menu of financial products and services with the acquisition of Home Loan Center, a subsidiary of Tree.com. The sale price for Home Loan Center, which operates as LendingTree Loans, is up to $56.0 million. LendingTree, a correspondent lender, originates and processes home loans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The acquisition includes substantially all of HLCs operating and related assets as well as LendingTrees lead-generation system, adding a residential mortgage origination component to Discovers direct lending system. Discover, a direct banking and...
Mortgage lenders that are anxious about complying with the call report requirements of the National Mortgage Licensing System might want to consider a new automated solution developed by LendingSpace, a Fulton, MD-based technology firm. Lenders who find themselves using a patchwork of their existing technologies to meet these requirements will spend a great deal of time and resources to ensure impeccable compliance, said Ravi Varma, CEO of LendingSpace. With a click of a mouse, the Automated Mortgage Call Report function in our ComplianceOne suite gathers the information from the loan origination system, and formats it so that its ready for...
Conventional conforming mortgage production took the heaviest hit in new lending during the first quarter as all four corners of the single-family originations market recorded sharp declines, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance ranking and analysis. Originations of conventional mortgages that meet conforming loan limits sank 40.0 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010, hitting an estimated $213.0 billion. The conventional conforming market still had the biggest role in the market, accounting for 65.5 percent of new originations, but a sharp drop in refinance activity hit the sector hard. Government-insured lending was also... [Includes two data charts]
Industry representatives are making headway in obtaining clarification from the Federal Reserve on various aspects of the agencys controversial regulation on loan originator compensation. But there are a number of key questions that still have to be addressed, and until they are, lenders need to proceed carefully, according to a top official at one of the nations largest mortgage lenders. One area in which the industry needs clarification has to do with compensation based on time spent as it pertains to different loan programs and products, and whether compensation can be established on a loan-by-loan basis or by...
Florida. The state legislature recently passed SB 1613, which allows licensed loan originators to work as contract loan processors or in-house loan processors, but includes in-house loan processors in certain disciplinary provisions...